KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition spokesman on finance Dr Peter Phillips in making his contribution to the country’s budget debate today, said the Government must enter a new covenant to facilitate Jamaicans, who have resided on land for extended periods, becoming legal title holders.

Phillips said the Government must remove the “badge of shame” of such Jamaicans being called squatters in their own country.

The opposition spokesman said that the People’s National Party (PNP) would support a new approach to land titling. He said that the new approach should include changing the more than 100 pieces of legislation that govern land in Jamaica and facilitate regularisation of squatters, especially in inner city communities. 

Phillips lamented that people in his St Andrew East Central constituency and in constituencies of other members of Parliament had remained on land for many years and still were unable to gain legal titles. 

He said that such regularisation would give support to over 40 per cent of farmers who do not have titles for the land on which they cultivate crops.

He suggested that the Government should seek to improve Jamaica’s housing situation further by shortening the time between initiation and building of National Housing Trust (NHT) projects, introducing self-building projects with support of credit unions, and encouraging private businesses to invest in low income housing.

Yakum Fitz-Henley